'The Choir': Gareth Malone makes singing cool

Long before Mr. Schuester got people excited about singing on "Glee," a charming choirmaster was on a mission to transform a select group of schools and communities in England with the power of song.

Gareth Malone became an instant success in the U.K. after the debut of "The Choir," a documentary-style reality series that followed his journey.

The series went on to win the Emmy of Great Britain -- a BAFTA -- while making Malone a household name through its three seasons. Humbled, yet exhilarated by his successes, Malone is still a bit surprised by it all.

"To find yourself in America, its not what one expects when one starts a career with choirs," Malone says. "Its not the usual path. A lot of my colleagues have been beavering away running their choirs in their little towns for years and years, and theyre not sitting here in a nice hotel (talking to reporters). Its been unbelievable. I think the reaction to the series and the reaction to me in the U.K. has been so positive. I think it feels still like the cherry on the cake."

The 13-episode series, which makes its U.S. debut Wednesday, July 7, on BBC America, represents five years in Malones life (shooting began on his 30th birthday in 2005) and chronicles three choirs he established. One was at Northolt High School, where he worked with 25 novice singers for nine months and turned them into a team competing at the worlds largest singing competition -- the World Choir Games. The first three episodes chronicle their journey from Gareths arrival at the school to the competition in China.

Malones second project was at the all-boys Lancaster School, where most students grew up listening to R&B and rap and had no exposure -- nor interest -- in a formal choir. Over two semesters, Malone worked to inspire and enrich these students through song as he built a 100-strong choir good enough to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

For his final project, Malone took on the blue-collar community of South Oxhey. This nine-month project involved building a choir of adults and children and the staging of a choral festival.

The results of his work were life-changing for students, riveting for viewers and a dream come true for Malone.

"I dont want to sound cheesy," Malone says, "but obviously I love doing the work; the projects are great. With a choir you created, an orchestra and then everyone singing beautifully and then having the wonderful producers, you then step back and look at it on television and see all the peoples reaction to it and hear all about it and see what it means to people -- its brilliant. Its nice to win two BAFTAs -- that was very cool. All of that is quite fun, but it is the projects themselves that are just great. I only do projects that I really, really feel are important. Thats what drives me."